Bringing Comfort

Dr. Loni Ellsworth (’19)
Rollo is 12 years old, 90% deaf and highly motivated by food. This little pug is also a comfort to the St. Croix Hospice patients at two Norwalk nursing facilities. And it’s all because Loni Ellsworth saw how Rollo interacted with individuals and put him through two years of training. “He triggers memories for patients and they really open up about their lives and the animals and people that are close to them and they sometimes tell me their whole life story, which is great,” Ellsworth said. “Rollo’s not the brightest dog I’ve ever trained, but he definitely has a lot of love to give.”